1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microcomputers and their associated peripheral devices, and more particularly, to a bracket for mounting a disk drive or other peripheral device into a standard sized slot of a microcomputer enclosure and to means for providing filtered cooling air to the disk drive or other peripheral device.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A typical microcomputer system, such as a personal computer (PC), is available as a self-contained unit to which peripheral devices, such as a keyboard, a video display, and a memory, among others, can be connected. A common PC enclosure has 5.25 inch form factor slots (5.75 inches wide by 3.25 inches high) in the face of the enclosure into which a standard memory device, e.g., a disk drive, can be installed. The installed disk drive can be powered from the PC power supply, and the disk drive communicates with the PC via a cable which is connected to a controller inside the PC enclosure.
It has become common to produce "half-height" disk drives so that a pair of drives can be stacked into a single slot. A standard half-height device has a 5.25 inch form factor (5.75 inches wide by 1.625 inches high) and fits snugly into the standard 5.25 inch form factor slot.
The proliferation of 3.5 inch format disks, particularly for optical storage, has led to the need for incorporating smaller disk drives into a standard PC slot. A standard 3.5 inch half-height disk drive has a 3.5 inch form factor (4 inches wide by 1.625 inches high), but can be inserted into a 5.25 inch form factor slot by providing a mounting bracket with the drive to adapt to the sizing of the slot.
As with all electronic circuit devices, the PC and installed disk drive require cooling air to keep the operating temperature at moderate levels. Thus, the PC typically has an internally mounted cooling fan to draw unfiltered outside air into the enclosure, and to expel hot air from the enclosure.
Optical disk drives, such as the Sony model D-301, are available which can be inserted into the 5.25 inch form factor PC slots. However, optical disk drives are far more sensitive to dust and heat than other types of disk drives. The ambient cooling scheme of the PC fan exacerbates the dust problem by creating a negative pressure within the disk drive mounted in the PC enclosure, with the result that dust is sucked into the optical disk insertion opening of the disk drive. Therefore, optical disk drives are more commonly used as stand-alone devices which include a cooling system that provides filtered air to the optical drive electronics. For example, the Sony model S-301 is no more than the Sony model D-301 placed in a box and provided with a power supply, a controller for communication with the SCSI interface in the PC, and an air filtration system. The filtration system is simply a fan which draws outside air through a filter element before forcing the filtered air over the optical drive electronics. This arrangement is more expensive to the consumer since an additional controller card is required in the stand-alone unit. Furthermore, more space is required for a stand alone disk drive.
Thus, it would be desirable to adapt a standard optical disk drive unit for mounting in a PC to include a dedicated air filtration system.